Part 2: The Chinese Dilemma – Face Saving and the Pinyin/Bopomofo Standoff

The core issue isn't just phonics or romanisation—it's a deep cultural and political reluctance to admit that a system introduced decades ago might need refinement, especially when outsiders (or even internal reformers) point it out. China created Hanyu Pinyin in the 1950s by adapting Western systems like Yale romanization. It deliberately moved away from Bopomofo (Zhuyin) for mainland use because pure alphabetic initials (b, d, etc., without added vowel sounds) were cleaner and more consistent. 

Why are many schools in China teaching Pinyin using bopomofo initial sounds?

 

I asked the above-captioned question on Quora.

Paul Denlinger, who has been speaking, reading, and writing Chinese since 1958 with an

M.A. in Linguistics (Uni Master's), University of St Andrews Graduated 1980 said:

‘I have no idea.’

A Chinese woman, on the other hand, answered differently. Before reading extracts of my discussion with the Chinese woman read the following Facebook post by Benedict Morais which is relevant.

Robert Matthews and his argument for Bopomofo

 

Robert Matthews LinkedIn Profile says the following:

My eclectic background (linguistics/biology/humanities+Chi/Fre/Span/Russ), teaching experience, and grasp of technology, make me suited for challenging jobs requiring advanced language skills, especially technical translation, indexing and language training.

Robert Matthews (馬學進) who lives in Taipei wrote the following on Quora in response to my answer.

Robert Matthews:

This addendum is an extended response to a comment by Luqman Michel, who is very upset that Bopomofo (which he seems to regard as backward and harmful), is somehow harming the teaching of Pinyin in Malaysia.

There are teachers from Tianjin, China who are teaching Pinyin using Bopomofo sounds. This is why I asked this question. We in Malaysia did away with Bopomofo in the 70’s and introduced Hanyu Pinyin. Why can’t China get rid of Bopomofo in China?

My response: